CENTER OF CIVILIZATION
O'ahu's Key Cultural/Learning/Shopping Areas
Zone 2
Ala Moana-Kakaako
Kapiolani
Makiki
Manoa
McCully-Moiliili
St. Louis Heights
The mostly high-rise condominium and low-rise apartment communities of Ala Moana-Kakaako are Oahu's major shopping and cultural centers. Ala Moana is home to Ala Moana Center, Hawaii's largest shopping megalopolis, with over 200 shops and restaurants in a setting of lush landscaping and colorful fish ponds.
Kakaako is Oahu's cultural headquarters. The fine arts collections of the Honolulu Academy of Arts are here, as well as Hawaii's leading entertainment complex. Showcased at Blaisdell Center, Concert Hall and Exhibition Hall are the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, live broadway shows, major concerts and exhibits and trade shows of all kinds.
The Kakaako waterfront is now the focus of highly significant,image-setting state activity. In the planning stages are a world-class aquarium, gathering place, Ocean Science Center and ocean park.
Wide, tree-lined Kapiolani Boulevard, with its affluent condominiums,office buildings and elegant auto dealerships, is the focal point of Kapiolani. Affordable low-rise apartments and older homes lie in a criss-cross of streets mauka (toward the mountain) of the boulevard.
Makiki marches up the side of the Koolau Mountains in a steady procession of high-rise condos and apartments at the lower elevations to expensive residences toward the top in Makiki Heights. About half way to the top is the stunning Contemporary Arts Museum, one of Honolulu's most novel and cultural places to dine.
Manoa means vast in Hawaiian, a perfect description for this deep valley. A neighborhood of mainly older homes with immense character and charm, thevalley's profuse vegetation is made more lush by frequent showers followed by spectacular rainbows. The University of Hawaii is located here, as well as Lyon Arboretum, the Manoa Valley Theatre and Manoa Marketplace, one of Oahu's loveliest little shopping and dining centers.
The close proximity to the University of Hawaii and Chaminade University campuses make McCully-Moiliili favorite haunts for local college students. The area is packed with student-friendly businesses and activities, mom and pop shops, and affordable to mid-priced low- medium and high-rise apartments.
Overlooking it all is St. Louis Heights where folks "view the scenery from their mountain greenery," as the old song goes. Waahila Ridge State Recreational Area, a 49.9-acre, pine-forested picnic site and hiking spot, is nestled in this neighborhood of older, established single-family homes.
Back to Community Profiles Page ->>
